Seat bottom for furniture



J. H. MULDER ET AL SEAT BOTTOM FOR FURNITURE Filed April 4, 1954 Patented Oct. 1, 1935 SEAT BOTTOM FOR FURNITURE John H. Mulder, Atlanta, Ga., and Henry H. Mulder, Michigan City, Ind.

Application April 4, 1934, Serial No. 718,976

1 Claim.

This invention relates to. furniture and more particularly to a spring suspended cushion or bottom for chairs, davenports, sofas and other upholstered furniture.

The object of the invention is to provide a spring suspended seat bottom of simple, inexpensive and durable construction capable of being applied to a chair or other article of furniture and which may be readily kept clean and will last for an indefinite period without the necessity of renewal or replacement of the parts.

A further object is to provide a seat bottom which is yieldably suspended from the chair frame at all sides thereof, thus assuring complete comfort for the user regardless of any posture he may assume when occupying the chair.

A further object is to provide a suspended seat bottom, the construction of which is such that, should the spiral springs become weak from excessive use, they may be readily replaced without disturbing the seat or cushion and the degree of resiliency of said cushion regulated by adjusting the tension of the suspension springs.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efficiency.

In the accompanying drawing forminga part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views of the drawing,

Figure l is a bottom plan view of a chair provided with a suspended bottom constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view of one of the suspension springs and its associated parts,

Figure 4 is a front elevation of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a detail vertical sectional view illustrating a modified form of the invention.

The improved seat or bottom, forming the subject-matter of the present invention, may be used on any article of upholstered furniture such as davenports, sofas, divans, or the like, and by way of illustration is shown in connection with an upholstered chair of conventional construction in which 5 designates the seat supporting frame, 6 the legs and 1 the back. The frame 5 may be of any desired shape according to the style or design of the furniture to which the bottom is applied, and in the present instance is illustrated as being substantially rectangular in shape and formed of flat wooden strips having their adjacent ends mitered and fastened together in any suitable manner so as to produce a strong supporting structure.

The bottom comprises a plurality of relatively thin flat slats 8 spaced apart intermediate their lengths by a connecting bar 9 having its opposite ends and intermediate portion bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the slats 8, as indicated at I O. Secured to the upper faces of the slats 8 in any suitable manner, as by staples ll,

are coil springs l2 which serve to receive and 10 support a cushion, indicated at 13. The upper ends of the springs 12 will be connected by the usual binding cord or straps, not shown, so as to maintain said springs normally in a vertical position and prevent lateral separation thereof 15 when subjected to the weight of a person occupying the chair.

Secured to the lower faces of the slats, at the opposite ends thereof, by bolts or similar fastening devices M, are brackets or plates l5, the free depending flanges 20 which bear fiat against the adjacent surface of the frame 5, said brackets being retained in position on the frame by bolts 25 passing through the flanges 2!] and said frame for engagement with clamping nuts 22. The

inner ends of the brackets H! are provided with downwardly and inwardly inclined suspension lips 23 having openings 24 therein which receive the upper ends of the suspension springs i8.

As the slats 8 are spaced inwardly from the frame 5 with the springs 18 converging downwardly in the direction of the slats, it follows that the entire seat supporting structure is freely suspended within the frame so as to permit the cushion i3 to accommodate itself to any posture assumed by a person occupying the seat and thereby insure the comfort of the occupant.

By referring to Figure 4 of the drawing, it will be noted that the downwardly inclined lips 23 extend over the nuts 22 thereby not only housing said nuts but also forming, in effect, locks for the 5 nuts and preventing accidental rotation thereof. The inclination of the lips l6 and 23 space the springs I8 from the inner wall of the frame 5 and hold the springs normally in downwardly converging relation with reference to the slats 8.

In Figure 5 of the drawing, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention in which the upper suspension brackets are dispensed with and in lieu thereof bolts 2 5 are extended through the frame 5, said bolts having their outer ends threaded and adapted to receive nuts 26 and their inner ends provided with eyes 21 which receive the adjacent ends of coil springs 28.

A chair bottom suspension device constructed in accordancewith the present invention maybe easily kept clean and liability of the seat structure or the upholstery supported thereby falling through the bottom of the chair is reduced to a minimum. r

The degree of resiliency of the seat bottom may be regulated by adjusting the tension of the springs l8 or by replacing the springs with other springs having more or less resiliency according to the effect desired.

The device is exceedingly simple and may be readily placed in position on a chair or other article of furniture without the employment of skilled labor and should any repairs be necessary thereto, said repairs may be readily effected without disturbing the upholstery. While ohe suspension bottom has been shown and described in connection with a chair, it will, of course, be understood that it may be used with equally good results on divans, sofas or any other type of furniture which requires a yielding type of seat without departing from the spirit of the inven-- tion.

Having thus described the invention, we claim:

A seat bottom for furniture comprising a frame having opposed bars, brackets engaged over the upper edge portions of said bars and each having one end thereof formed with a depending attaching flange contacting with the outer side face of a bar, and its other end provided with an inwardly and downwardly extending lip diverging from the inner side face of the bar, bolts extending through the attaching flanges and bars and having threaded ends projecting from the inner faces of the bars and overhung by the lips of the brackets, nuts threaded upon the threaded inner end portions of the bolts and disposed beneath the lips in contact therewith to prevent rotation of the nuts, a seat supporting structure 20 within the frame, plates carried by the seat supporting structure and provided with lips extending upwardly therefrom towards the brackets, and springs forming a yieldable connection between the lips of the brackets and the lips of the 25 plates.

JOHN H. MULDER. [L. s.] HENRY H. MULDER. [L. s.] 

